The Swiss master, seven times Wimbledon winner and the defending champion, has reached at least the quarter-finals of the last 36 Grand Slams going back to 2004.

But he had no answer to Ukrainian Stakhovsky as he lost 6-7 7-6 7-5 7-6.

It was the earliest exit for a defending champion since Aussie Lleyton Hewitt - another casualty on Wednesday - lost in the first round a decade ago.

(Photo: Getty Images)

And it means Spain’s Nicolas Almagro, seeded 15th, is the highest-ranked player left in Murray’s half of the draw.

Top seed Novak Djokovic still potentially lies in wait for the second-seeded Scot though, should he make it to the final.

But Murray tried to downplay the increased expectations and said: “I just have to take care of my side of the court.”

Stakhovsky beamed: “I couldn’t have played any better, it must have been magic. It’s been a fantastic day.”

While Murray was winning his first match at Wimbledon this year, his potential semi-final foe, Rafa Nadal, limped out of the tournament.

And as the British No.1 hardly put a foot wrong in his latest straight sets win, chaos reigned around him, as his quarter-final opponent Tsonga hit the deck.

Big-hitters Marin Cilic and John Isner also withdrew from his half of the draw.

And then, just as he was completing his post-match interviews, there was the biggest shock in Wimbledon history (since Monday), as Federer joined the exodus.

If the current rate of attrition continues, the All England Club might be able to hand the trophy over to Murray as the last-man standing by next Wednesday.

After 77 years of waiting, a home male winner at Wimbledon could come even quicker than we had hoped.

In fact, the only man who seemed to be calm amid the carnage was Murray, now the 11/8 second favourite behind world No.1 Novak Djokovic, who lurks menacingly on the other side of the draw. And, like any good footballer, Murray is just taking each match as it comes.

“It’s been a strange day, but you have to concentrate on yourself,” insisted the Scot. “I just have to take care of what’s going on on my side of the court, practise well, prepare well for the matches, try to concentrate on each one at a time.”

To be fair to Murray, he also refused to get excited about the potential quarter-final blockbuster between Rafa and Roger which was abruptly cancelled.

And with world No.16 Almagro the highest seed left in his half of the draw, the US Open champion suggested this tournament was marking a generational shift of power.

“Everybody was so obsessed with how the draw was before the tournament started,” he said. “You can’t take any matches for granted. People want to do that often and just write people through to finals or semi-finals. But it doesn’t work that way.

“Now, everybody wants to change their views on it because a few guys have lost. There are still top players left and there’s a lot of young guys as well, coming through, like (Ernests) Gulbis, (Jerzy) ­Janowicz.

“I’ll just concentrate on my next match. I’m playing a tough player, a very experienced guy. I will worry about that match.”

(Photo: Julian Finney)

But even the identity of his next opponent tomorrow suggests that Murray has added Lady Luck to his sizeable entourage.

Tommy Robredo is the No.32 seed, but the Spanish clay-courter has never made the second week here, despite beating grass-court specialist Nicolas Mahut last night.

After reaching the third round at Wimbledon for the eighth consecutive time, things so far are going rather well for last year’s losing finalist.